ALEC

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) sent a letter to companies that may have supported the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council this week asking about ALEC’s work on model legislation for “stand your ground” laws.

The lawyer who filed an IRS whistleblower complaint against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on behalf of a shadowy organization known as “Clergy Voice” has ties to the liberal government watchdog group Common Cause, another ALEC foe.

Veteran journalist Bill Moyers heads a foundation that has provided more than $1 million in grants to liberal groups which then provide guests for Moyers’ television show, a potential conflict of interest according to one watchdog group.

A host of progressive organizations have led an intense campaign to destroy the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for more than a year, not only through legal challenges but also through public shaming campaigns against corporations and state legislators connected to the group.

Common Cause—a nonprofit campaign finance and government reform organization whose stated goal is to “curb the excessive influence” of money and lobbying on government—is one of several organizations participating in a Wednesday protest against the conservative super PAC American Crossroads.

ProgressNow, a leader in the leftwing campaign against free-market model legislation organization ALEC, is a shadowy organization funded by millionaires, billionaires, and leftwing philanthropies with the intent of expanding Democratic power.

MSNBC’s parent companies, Comcast and General Electric, are both members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which MSNBC commentators like Martin Bashir and Karen Finney have blamed for the death of Trayvon Martin in order to condemn ALEC member Koch Industries.